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A person within earshot of music by Joy Denalane might think he or she is listening to neo-soul, whereas another might hear an African folk song, and yet a third person could be listening to a hip-hop soul joint. Born and raised in Berlin as the daughter of a German mother and a South African father, Joy Maureen Denalane has sung lyrics in various languages, including English and German, as well as the South African languages Xhosa and Shangan. Although her stylish vocals and sounds are clearly influenced by artists ranging from Letta Mbulu to Lauryn Hill, her inspiration to do music, period, originates from hip-hop, especially that of female firebrands Salt-N-Pepa and Roxanne Shanté, which began seeping into Germany in the late ’80s. During this period, at the age of 16, Denalane moved out of her parent’s home to involve herself in Germany’s music scene. She was sure she could not rap, and so without any lessons or musical background, she picked up the microphone and trained herself to sing.

Joy Denalane – Nie wieder, nie mehr (feat. Julian Williams)

The Afro-German songstress started her budding career doing backup and support vocals for soul and reggae bands such as Cultural Roots and Family Affair. Her big break occurred when she was called into the city of Stuttgart to lay down vocals for established electronica and hip-hop producers DJ Thomilla and Tiefschwarz on the international dance hit “Music” in 1999. The lead member of German rap group Freundeskreis, Max Herre, also happened to be looking for a female vocalist in order to accompany him on the song “Mit Dir” (“With You”), which became a Top Five hit on the German charts the same year. Her relationship with Herre (whom she wound up marrying) enabled her to sign with the Sony subsidiary Four Music Records.